Michelle Duster

Michelle Duster is an American author and public historian. She is known for her work to preserve the legacy of her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells.

Early life and education

Michelle Duster was born in Chicago to Maxine Duster and Donald L. Duster on December 20, 1963. Her father worked for Comed,^[1] and her mother was an English teacher and civic leader.^[2] She is the paternal great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells. Growing up in Chicago's South Side, Duster began writing from an early age. While in high school, she entered essay contests and was a writer for the school newspaper.^[3] In 1985, she obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College.^[4] She went on to obtain an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School.^[5]

Career

Duster has worked to preserve Ida B. Wells' legacy both through written publications and public history projects.^[6][7][8] She has written one children's book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-lynching Civil Rights Leader^[9] and one young adult biography, Ida B. The Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy Of Ida B. Wells,^[10][11] about her great-grandmother. She has also edited two anthologies of Wells' writing.

She received the Multi-Generational Activist Award from the Illinois Human Rights Commission in 2019, and the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award from her alma mater, Dartmouth College.^[12]

Selected bibliography

Children's literature

• — (2022). Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth. New York City, New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781250239464.^[13]
• — (2021). Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells. New York City, New York: Atria Publishing Group. ISBN 9781982129811.^[14]

Anthologies edited

• — (2008). Ida In Her Own Words. Lansing, Illinois: Benjamin Williams Publishing. ISBN 978-0980239812.^[15]
• — (2010). Ida From Abroad. Lansing, Illinois: Benjamin Williams Publishing. ISBN 978-0980239898.^[15]